This invention relates to fuel systems for internal combustion engines and more particularly to a device for preventing air from entering a fuel system when the fuel supply runs low.
In the operation of internal combustion engines, particularly diesel engines, the presence of air in the fuel system can cause serious performance problems or even failure of the engine to continue functioning or to start. Heretofore, such problems often occurred when the fuel supply of an operating engine was not monitored and became exhausted, causing the engine to suck air into its fuel system. To restart an engine under such circumstances usually required complicated and time-consuming procedures in order to bleed air from the entire fuel system which was necessary to restore normal operation. Often, before such proper procedures were applied, efforts to start the engine caused other problems such as burned out starters and de-energized batteries.
A general object of the present invention is to solve this problem so that the fuel supply of an operating engine need not be monitored and if the fuel is depleted, the engine will automatically shut down before any air can enter the engine fuel system.
Another object of my invention is to provide a device that can be easily installed between the fuel system of an engine and its fuel supply which will automatically shut down the engine when the fuel supply is diminished to a predetermined level.
Another object of my invention is to provide an automatic engine turn-off device comprising a housing which may be installed between the fuel system of an internal combustion engine and its fuel supply and having filter means and switch means that will operate to stop the engine when the level of filtered fuel in the housing falls to predetermined level.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a compact automatic engine turn off device that will operate automatically to trap any entrained air in the fuel and return it to the fuel supply tank and then shut off the engine if the fuel supply falls below a predetermined level before air can enter the engine fuel system.
Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic engine turn-off device which will prevent air from entering the fuel system of an engine when the fuel supply becomes exhausted and even if it becomes necessary to disassemble the device to replace a component such as a filter element.
Another object of my invention is to provide an automatic engine shut down device for preventing air from entering the engine fuel system, which is particularly well adapted for ease and economy of manufacture.